


your package has been delivered

by teeandrainbows



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: (in a cute teen jatp kind of way), (mostly), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Is Alive, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Grief/Mourning, Meet-Cute, Mutual Pining, POV Alternating, Strangers to Lovers, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:28:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28399251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teeandrainbows/pseuds/teeandrainbows
Summary: Julie was pretty sure she didn't order guitar picks.  Luke most certainly did not order monster slippers.  Clearly, the delivery driver mixed up their houses.  But, delivering packages to each other becomes a ritual, and the fact that they each can't get the other out of their mind?  Surely, nothing will come of that.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Comments: 18
Kudos: 265





	your package has been delivered

**Author's Note:**

> My first Juke fic! Julie and the Phantoms is the first fandom in a while that has really inspired me to create, so here I am! This was inspired by [a prompt](https://spacekrulesbians.tumblr.com/post/638774125387808768/falling-in-love-with-my-neighbor-writing-prompts) I saw on tumblr (specifically the second one on that list).

Julie was extremely confused.

She checked her app again - after all, she did have a tendency to order a bunch of things and then forget what she had ordered. The fact that it was currently summer vacation made it even worse. A quick scroll through Amazon, though, told her that she had decidedly not ordered guitar picks. She didn’t even play guitar!

There was the small matter of the email, though, telling her that her package had been delivered. Not to her, though, she thought, pouting. All she had was a bag of guitar picks and absolutely no idea where her new slippers were. And she had been so excited about them, too! The moment she had seen them on Amazon, she knew she just had to have them.

Unfortunately, though, it looked like it wasn’t meant to be. Her dad suggested she try contacting support, but Julie merely shrugged. It wasn’t worth it.

“Why don’t you just sell the picks online?” Flynn suggested over the phone that evening while Julie was relaxing on her bed. “At least then you can make back some of the money you spent on the slippers.”

Julie considered it for a moment, eyeing the bag of picks sitting on her nightstand. “That’s actually… not a bad idea. Thanks!”

“Of course it’s not, I’m the one who suggested it,” her friend boasted, and Julie could almost see the smirk on her face.

“Alright,” she said, leaning back against the headboard. “I’ll post them up tonight.”

When she hung up, she went immediately to Facebook, opening up Marketplace. From there, it was easy to tap on New Listing and post the picks for sale, estimating the price as best as she could.

Finished, she set her phone to the side and reached for her headphones to listen to some music - Trevor Wilson, of course - but before she could press play, she heard her father’s voice.

“Mija, it’s your turn to take out the trash!” he called.

“Coming!” she called in return, setting her phone on the nightstand next to the picks and running down the steps. The bag was already by the door, and she hoisted it up, stepping outside. It was a cool evening, but the sky was clear. Julie hummed to herself as she took the bag to the curb, and turned go to back inside.

A new family had moved in next door, and although she hadn’t met them yet, she knew they had a teenaged son. If she had to guess, Julie would say the boy standing at the curb in front of the neighbour’s house was that son, standing with an open Amazon box in his hands. His hair was covered by an orange beanie, and as her eyes travelled lower, she realized he was wearing a loose tank top and his arms were…

She stopped herself from looking, instead dragging her gaze back up. He turned, noticing her, and lifted his head in greeting.

“Hey,” he said, tossing the box to the ground. Before Julie could formulate a response, she noticed something poking out of the box. Leopard print. She gasped.

“Is that…?” she started, dashing forward, towards her neighbour. He made a sound of indignation, but she ignored him in favour of reaching into the box and pulling out her highly anticipated leopard claw slippers. “It is!” She hugged them to her chest, giving a quick little happy dance.

“Mind telling me what’s going on?” her neighbour asked.

Julie glanced over at him. “They must have been delivered to your house by mistake. I ordered these, and I had a notification that they were delivered…” she trailed off, adjusting her glasses. “Wait. You didn’t order guitar picks, did you?”

The boy let out a puff of air, bemused. “I’m assuming they ended up at your place?”

Julie beamed. “Give me a moment, I’ll go grab them!” With that, she turned on her heels and ran back inside the house, upstairs to her room, dropped the slippers, and returned with the bag of picks. The boy took them from her, his hand brushing against hers, and she drew her hand back quickly.

“Thanks,” he said, an easy smile on his face. “Hopefully that’s the end of that.”

“Yeah,” Julie said, holding her elbow and swinging from side to side a bit. “So, looks like we’re neighbours then?”

He nodded. “Guess so. I’m Luke,” he said, sticking out his hand. Julie eyed it, unable to stop her eyes from traveling up his bare, toned arm.

“Julie,” she said finally, shaking his hand. The rings he wore were cool against her palm and she let go a half second too soon, letting out a nervous giggle.

“I’ll see you around, then, Julie?” Luke said, still grinning. She nodded, trying to ignore the way his cheeks dimpled when he smiled.

“I’ll sure I will,” she replied, mentally cursing herself. What kind of response was that? She tried to cover it up with a little wave as he walked back up to his house, whistling, then went back inside to multiple notifications on her phone, messages from Marketplace about the picks.

Darn. Now she had to message all of them and say they were sold.

She sure hoped Luke didn’t see the post.

= = = = =

Luke slipped back into the house, nodding at Alex’s mother before heading down the hall to the room they had let him use. At the last second, though, he stopped short in front of Alex’s room and stepped inside.

“‘Lex.”

His friend glanced up from the box he was currently unpacking. They had been in the house for a week, but Alex liked to take his time getting out his belongings. “Luke.”

“I found the picks I ordered,” he said, holding up the bag.

“That’s awesome, dude!” Alex said, standing off his bed. “Dad said we can use the garage as a studio, so we’re all set to rehearse as soon as I get the kit together.” He grabbed a pair of drumsticks from his bed, spinning them between his fingers. “Where did you find them, anyway? Did the package fall off the steps or something?”

Luke snorted. “Funny story, actually. You know those stupid slippers? They were supposed to go to this girl next door, and she got my picks. We never would have known if I hadn’t been throwing out the slippers just now,” he explained.

Footsteps came running down the hall and they both looked up as Reggie, their other friend and the third member of the band came to a halt outside Alex’s room, looking as though he had run from the other end of town. And that was saying something, since now that Alex’s family had moved, Reggie only lived two streets over.

“Problem solved!” he said, leaning on the door frame. Seeing both Luke and Alex squinting at him, he elaborated. “Your picks never showed up, but there’s this girl, uh…” he pulled out his phone, tapping on it. “Wait. The post is gone. Aw, man, I’m sorry. She was selling a whole bag of picks, and--” he cut off, eyeing the bag in Luke’s hands. “Oh, you already got some! Did you see the post and buy them from her?”

Luke laughed, reaching over and patting Reggie on the elbow. “Something like that,” he said, glancing back at Alex who was fighting not to laugh too. “Look, we should start rehearsing again, now that the house is set up. Tomorrow night? We’ve got the garage.”

“I’ll be here,” Reggie promised. “I’ve gotta get back home, though. Dad’s making his famous cheesecake and I told him I’d help.”

Luke grinned, watching his friend disappear down the hall, then nodded at Alex. “I’m gonna go work on some lyrics.”

When he slipped into his own room, he didn’t pull out his song journal just yet. He sat by the window, conveniently facing Julie’s house, and stared out, thinking about the girl he had met, with her curly hair tied back, and the comfy-looking orange sweater with an emoji on the front, and her large glasses. Julie. He grinned, tapping out a rhythm on the windowsill, then went to find his journal.

= = = = =

The second time Julie got a package obviously not meant for her, a week after the first one, she rolled her eyes. She didn’t even have to check her orders this time, since she definitely didn’t play first person shooter video games.

“Do you think it’s the hot neighbour again?” Flynn asked from her vantage point on Julie’s bed, a teasing smirk on her face. “The one you swear you don’t think about?”

Julie scoffed. “No!” she said, a little too loudly. “No,” she repeated, dropping her chin to hide the light flush on her cheeks.

“Right,” Flynn said, pushing herself off the bed and taking the game from Julie’s hands. “So, what do you think he got?”

Julie shrugged. “I’m not sure. I don’t have any notifications,” she said, glancing down at her phone.

Flynn was reading the back of the game case. “Well, you know what you have to do, right?”

“What are you talking about?” She didn’t like the look on her friend’s face.

“You have to go over there and ask him!” Flynn pushed the case back into Julie’s hands. “Go on. I’ll even go with you if you want.”

“It’s fine,” Julie said, staring down at the front of the case again. “I’ll be right back.”

“And I’ll be waiting in the kitchen. I saw your Tia made those cookies I like!” Flynn pushed Julie out of the room in front of her.

“Okay, okay!” Julie said, laughing.

She wasn’t laughing as she crossed the yard to Luke’s house, though. She held the game case in front of her, her arms crossed over it, and paused in front of the door.

“You can do this, Julie,” she murmured to herself before reaching out and pushing the doorbell.

A woman answered. Luke’s mother, she assumed as she gave a nervous smile.

“Hi, is Luke there? I’m from next door and…” she lifted the game case, “I think I might have gotten a package meant for him.”

The woman directed her to the garage and Julie made her way over. There was music coming from the structure, and as she pushed the door open, she was met with the sight of three boys, one on drums, one with a bass, and Luke with a guitar. Of course. Guitar picks. Luke played guitar.

They were playing a song she didn’t recognize, although she couldn’t deny she liked it. Luke was still wearing a beanie, a black one this time to match his black shirt. The drummer had a pink hoodie on, and the bassist was wearing an open plaid shirt over a white t-shirt. Luke was singing, too, and Julie’s breath caught in her throat. He was good.  _ They _ were good. His voice had a raspiness to it and she nodded along as they played.

They hadn’t noticed her yet, but as the song came to an end, it was the bassist who turned and saw her first.

“Uhh… guys? Girl. In the garage.”

The drummer glanced up, meeting Julie’s gaze for half a second before Luke turned.

She gave a meek wave. “Hey. It’s me. Julie.” Her eyes closed and she drew in a breath, mentally berating herself. “I think this is yours.” She held out the game.

Luke slung his guitar over his shoulder and walked over to her, taking the game. “I was wondering where this was,” he commented, showing the bassist.

“Sick,” the bassist said, grinning widely and taking the game from him.

Julie kicked at the floor. “That was good, by the way. The song.”

“You liked it?” Luke asked, tugging off the beanie and running his fingers through his hair. “We’re Sunset Curve.”

“Tell your friends,” the drummer chimed in.

Julie nodded, raising her eyebrows. “Cool. And yeah, it was pretty good.”

Luke beamed. “That’s Reggie, and Alex,” he said, gesturing to his bandmates who each greeted her in turn.

“Okay, well, I’m going to, uh… I’m going to head back to my place.” She turned, starting to leave, then thought of something. She glanced over her shoulder. “Unless you got something of mine?”

“Nah, nothing. Not unless you ordered men’s shoes or something,” Luke said, shrugging. “But I’ll let you know if I do.”

Julie forced a grin so wide she felt her face start to hurt. “I’ll be waiting,” she replied before hightailing it out of the garage. I’ll be waiting. What a stupid thing to say.

= = = = =

The guys hadn’t stopped teasing Luke in the three days since the video game.

“She hightailed it out of there pretty quickly,” Reggie joked, jabbing his elbow into Luke’s side.

Alex was worse, since they lived together. “You wanna know how many times I’ve caught him looking over at her house when he thinks I’m not looking?”

Luke gave a mock sigh, walking away from his two closest friends in the world. “Shove off,” he said, although his tone was light enough that they knew he wasn’t too offended.

He couldn’t help it, though. Julie had a certain quality to her he couldn’t pin down, but there was something about her that drew him towards her like a moth to a flame.

“Boys, there’s an Amazon box on the doorstep,” they heard Alex’s mother call. Neither of Alex’s parents ordered online, so it had to be Alex’s or Luke’s. While Alex went to get the box, Luke sat in silence as Reggie kept staring at him with a mirthful grin on his face.

“Shut up,” he said.

Reggie leaned forward. “You like her.”

“I barely know her.”

“She likes our music. Your song. You like her.”

Alex came back in with the small box. “I don’t think it’s mine,” he said, passing it to Luke. Without thinking, without looking at the shipping label, Luke opened it and pulled out a bag filled with… something. He wasn’t sure what until Reggie took the bag from him and opened it, pulling out a ring of fabric and stretching it between his fingers.

“I think they’re… hair ties?” Reggie glanced at them, his brows furrowed.

Alex took one, playing with it. “Maybe?”

They were mostly leopard print in various colours, and Luke had a sinking suspicion.

“I think they’re Julie’s.”

Alex chortled first, then Reggie snorted. Soon, both were laughing hysterically, and Luke dropped his face in his palms.

“Dude, you’re going to have to take them to her,” Alex said, his shoulders shaking from laughter.

Luke groaned into his hands. “I hate you guys.”

“And we love you,” Reggie announced, clapping Luke’s back. “We’re here for you.”

Luke made his way down the stairs, out the door, and across the yard, bag of hair ties in hand. As he was halfway to the door, he paused. There was music coming from Julie’s garage. Curious, he changed course, pausing just outside the garage and peering in. Julie was in there, sitting at a piano, her back to him, and she was singing.

Luke’s throat tightened. She sounded good.

He watched as she sang, passion pouring from every inch of her. As the song ended and she bowed her head over the piano, he suddenly felt like he wasn’t supposed to be there. Luke ducked down, out of the window, just as she started to turn around.

While he debated what to do, the door opened next to him and Julie stepped out, swiping at her cheek with the back of his hand. She stopped short when she noticed him.

“L-Luke!” she gasped, her hand going to her chest. “What are you doing here?”

He grinned sheepishly, holding up the bag. “I think it happened again. My hair’s not long enough for these.”

Julie sniffled, taking the bag from him. “My scrunchies…” She glanced back up at him and he couldn’t help but notice that her eyes were rimmed with red. “Thanks.”

He wanted to ask if she was alright. Wanted to ask if she needed anything. But his own words echoed in his mind. He didn’t know her, and she didn’t know him.

“Julie, is that you?”

A man stepped around the corner of the garage, pausing when he saw Julie and Luke standing together.

“Hey, Dad,” she said, an obviously forced smile stretching across her face. “Just clearing up another package problem.”

“You really should call customer support about that,” her father said, shaking his head. Then he turned to Luke.

“Welcome to the neighbourhood, by the way. I’ve seen your parents around. Let them know if they need anything, they can feel free to ask; we’ve been living here Julie’s whole life.”

He was only being nice, but Luke couldn’t help the stab in his heart. They weren’t his parents, although they had certainly been acting like it. He managed a friendly smile and a nod, though. “I’ll pass on the message,” he said, sticking his hands in his pockets. “I should probably get back, though. I’ll see you around?” he asked, nodding at Julie.

She nodded back at him, but didn’t speak. Luke waved, not wanting to push it, and headed back to his house.

The guys were insufferable.

= = = = =

Julie didn’t stop thinking about it for the next week. Luke had been just outside the garage. Had he heard her singing? He hadn’t mentioned it.

Ironically, that made him the first person in her life to not ask her if she was okay.

After her mother died, Julie had noticed that the world was full of overly sympathetic people who liked to ask if someone was okay after something horrible just to ease their own conscience. She had started to find it annoying only a month after it started.

But Luke… unless he was completely oblivious, he had seen her crying, she was sure of it. And he hadn’t asked her.

Even if it did make him insensitive, it was still a relief.

The next day, though, a package with her stuff was delivered to her house. Two days later, the same thing. And none of Luke’s packages came to her house. It seemed the delivery driver had figured things out.

It also meant that, unless she could build up the courage to actually go over and talk to him, she had no reason to see him.

Unless she invented a reason.

That night, with trembling fingers, Julie placed an order for a zebra print bucket hat. For the delivery address, though, she entered the number for Luke’s house.

Two days later, she was eating lunch with her dad and Carlos when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” she said, getting up and almost running to the door. When she opened it and Luke was standing there, no beanie this time, holding up the hat, she plastered a relieved smile on her face.

“And they were doing so well,” Luke said drily, handing her the hat. “Not leopard print?”

“A girl’s gotta have options,” she said, laughing sheepishly, putting the hat on her head. “So…”

“I’ve gotta go, Reggie’s coming over for band rehearsal.”

“Oh.” Julie clasped her hands in front of her. “Well, I won’t keep you, then. See you around?”

He nodded, winked at her, then walked away.

Her heart leapt to her throat.

He  _ winked _ at her.

Two days later, a set of guitar strings arrived on her doorsteps.

Two days after that, Luke brought her a butterfly hairclip.

The next day, she dropped off a beanie.

The packages got weirder and weirder as the days went on, and soon it was the last week of summer.

“You guys are cute,” Flynn commented, sitting on the couch in the garage while Julie modelled the top she had ordered. It had 3D butterflies. Luke had been laughing when he dropped it off. “So, when’s the wedding?”

Julie paused in the middle of a twirl. “What?”

“You two are obviously flirting with each other at this point,” Flynn pointed out, leaning forward and putting her elbows on her knees. “He’s what, 17? That’s only a year and a half older than you. If I knew more about him aside from his ordering habits, I’d think you two were a good match.”

Julie blew out air, a fake smile on her face. “No, we’re just…”

What were they? Friends? She didn’t even know.

“Hey, Julie?” She glanced up, seeing Carlos at the garage door. “Dad told me to bring this to you.”

Flynn grabbed the Amazon box from Julie’s brother, shaking it next to her ear. “I wonder what it is!” Deaf to Julie’s protests, she ripped open the box and revealed an empty picture frame.

“Well, this is new. Did you order this yourself?” Flynn asked. Julie shook her head, taking the frame out of the box. It was simple, black, and sleek.

“No. It has to have been Luke,” she said, letting out a breath. “I’ll just… take this over to him now.”

“And figure out what the two of you are in the process,” Flynn joked, throwing an arm around Julie’s shoulders and kissing her cheek. “Kidding.”

As Julie walked over to Luke’s house, though, she couldn’t get that thought out of her head. When she rang the doorbell, the blond guy (Alex, she thought) answered.

“Oh, hey. Julie, right?” he asked, leaning against the door frame. “Luke’s not home right now. Another package?”

Julie forced a grin, holding out the picture frame. “It might be his parents, actually. I know I don’t really know him that well, but this doesn’t really seem like something he’d order.”

A curious expression passed over Alex’s face as he took the frame from her. “I’ll ask him,” he said after a long pause.

Julie shifted her weight awkwardly. “Well, um. I guess, tell him I said hi?”

Luke’s mother came around the corner then, her pleasant smile in place. “I’m heading out-- oh, hello, dear.” She put her hand on Alex’s shoulder. “Alexander, could you tell Luke his parents called earlier?”

Alex’s jaw clenched, and Julie suddenly felt dizzy.

“Don’t give me that look. They still care about him, even if he doesn’t want to see it.”

She was starting to think this wasn’t a conversation she was supposed to hear.

“They just want to know if he needs anything before school starts.”

Alex nodded, finally. “I’ll tell him.”

“Thank you, dear,” the woman said, turning and smiling at Julie once more before stepping past her.

When she was gone, Alex stepped out of the house and closed the door behind him. “Look, you can’t let Luke know you heard that. In fact, just forget about it.”

Julie frowned, wrapping her arms around her. “If she isn’t his mother, then…”

“She’s my mother. This is my family’s house. Luke’s just… he’s staying with us for now. But I’m serious. Just forget about this. I’ll make sure he gets the frame.”

“But--”

“I mean it, Julie,” Alex said, his face stony. “Please.”

She sighed. “Fine.”

With multiple questions mulling around in her mind, she turned and walked away, still hugging herself.

= = = = =

Luke closed the app, grinning. Apparently, his next gift for Julie had just been delivered. When the zebra print hat had arrived, he had noticed the shipping label had his address on it. From there, it was easy to play Julie’s game, and he had slowly raised the stakes, making the items weirder and weirder, yet still obvious they were for him.

His eyes fell on the picture frame sitting on his bed. At least that one had come to the proper address.

He went downstairs, stopping in the kitchen for one of Alex’s mom’s famous cupcakes before heading out to the garage. Reggie would be over soon for a band rehearsal, as they were set to perform at the opening assembly at school in a week.

When Alex had told him about his parents calling, he had almost had second thoughts about the picture frame. After a night of sulking, though, he knew he had to do it.

The guys joined him in the garage, and almost as if on cue, there was a tiny knock on the door and Julie stepped in.

“Hey guys,” she said - her normal greeting. What wasn’t normal, though, was how she avoided Alex’s eyes, nodding only at Reggie and Luke.

Strange.

“So, I’m pretty sure this shirt is too big for me,” she said, holding up a baggy tank top. Luke smirked.

“Aw, darn,” he said, taking it from her. “Thanks, though. I was thinking I would wear this at the assembly at school next week.” He held it up in front of him. “What do you think?”

Reggie snorted behind him, and he ignored him.

“Looks good,” Julie replied, rocking back and forth between her heels and her toes. “Well… I should go. But I’ll--”

“Actually, I was wondering if you’d take a picture of us playing?” Luke asked. If he didn’t get this done now, he wasn’t sure if it would happen.

“Um, sure,” Julie replied, and he handed his phone to her.

Luke cued the guys and they began playing “Now or Never”. The flash on his phone went off a few times, and then Julie lowered the phone and started bobbing her head to the music. Luke grinned, directing a verse of the song at her and ignoring the look he got from Reggie. When they finished, he tossed his head back, eyeing her as she clapped.

“You know, you should join us sometime. You’re a good singer,” he commented, offhand.

Crap.

As fear dawned in her eyes, Luke realized he had never actually told her that he had heard her sing.

“Here,” she said, handing him his phone. “I’ve gotta go.”

With that, Julie practically bolted from the garage, and Reggie and Alex came up on either side of him.

“Dude, what did you do to her?” Reggie asked, while Alex patted his shoulder.

“I… have no idea,” Luke replied, staring after her.

Two days later, when the box of sequins arrived on his doorstep, Luke walked them across to Julie’s house.

“She’s in the garage,” her brother said, seeing him coming from the porch.

Oh.

He thanked the younger boy, changing direction and heading to the building in question. There was music coming from it and he was hit with a sense of deja vu as he stood outside the door, staring in, watching her stand at the piano and sing with more passion than he had ever heard. When the song ended, he opened the door and slid inside, clapping his hands.

She turned, her eyes wide.

“I’m sorry about the other day,” Luke said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to, y’know.”

She nodded, watching him with a guarded expression, and Luke sighed.

“I meant what I said, though. You’re an amazing singer. It would add a fresh sound to Sunset Curve.”

Julie wrapped her arms around herself, shaking her head. “I don’t sing in public anymore.”

Luke didn’t speak for a moment. Instead, he walked over to the couch he noticed and sat down. While he was hoping she would sit with him, she sat on the piano bench instead.

“My mom passed away last year,” she said finally, none of her normal spark to her voice. It sounded hollow, and Luke lowered his head.

“I’m sorry,” he replied, not sure what else to say.

“She was the one who introduced me to music, and I just… can’t do it now. Not without her.” Now Julie’s face was drawn, and she looked like she was about to cry. Luke hesitated, not sure what to do. Girls didn’t normally cry around him.

“Er…”

“Please don’t ask me if I’m okay,” she breathed, leaning forward. “I hate when people ask me that.”

Well, that was something he could identify with.

“Me too.”

She blinked, her expression now curious.

“I, er, I haven’t seen my parents in a while. They didn’t approve of me being in a band, and I just, kind of… left. Alex’s parents took me in, but for the first while, they kept asking me if I was alright, or telling me I could go home any time.” He swallowed, playing with one of the rings he was wearing. “It’s not exactly the same, but I get it.”

Julie nodded slowly. “Do you miss them?”

Did he? Luke let out a long, slow breath. “That picture you took the other day? I bought a picture frame. Thankfully it came to our place, and not yours, hey? I was going to send it to them. Show them how happy I am.”

“Actually, the frame came to me, first. Alex was home when I brought it over,” Julie chimed in, meekly.

Luke blinked, now twisting his hands together. “Oh.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” he reassured her. “It’s my fault, really. I shouldn’t have sent all that stuff to your house.” He paused, then clarified. “Starting with the guitar strings. All of that, I put your address instead of mine.”

Julie giggled, rising to her feet. “You know, I did the same thing. Starting with the hat.”

“I know,” Luke replied, feeling the mood in the room shift and allowing himself an easy smile. “I saw the address. It’s why I did what I did.”

She was now laughing, holding her elbow with her other hand. “I just did it so I’d get a chance to see you more often,” she admitted, glancing sideways.

“Hey, I played along,” Luke replied, pushing himself up and walking across to her, taking her hand in his. “I wanted to see you, too.”

He could have sworn her cheeks took on a light red flush at his words, and, emboldened, he rubbed his thumb over her hand.

“Whenever you’re ready to perform again, let me know. There’s a place for you in Sunset Curve,” he said earnestly, smiling at her.

Julie smiled back. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Oh, and… I don’t need sequins. We have a bit of a different aesthetic,” Luke joked, handing the box to her.

“We’ll see about that,” Julie quipped, glancing back up at him from under her eyelashes.

Luke had a sudden thought. “Hey. What do you say we grab coffee tomorrow? We can get to know each other some more.”

Julie stepped back, arching her eyebrows. “Are you asking me out?” she asked, tilting her head to the side.

“Is it working?” he asked, mirroring her head tilt.

She nodded. “Yeah. But I get to pick the spot. I know the neighbourhood better than you.”

“Hey, Reggie grew up around here too. He’s shown me all the good spots,” Luke retorted although he was still smiling.

Julie smirked. “Next time,” she said, a giggle escaping her.

Luke couldn’t help it. He reached across, tucking her curly hair behind her ear. “Fine,” he replied, winking before turning around. “I should get back, though. Tomorrow, 3pm?”

“Sounds good. See you around,” Julie said, and Luke glanced back over his shoulder, repeating it to her.

He walked back to Alex’s house, a spring to his step. That evening, he stared down at the picture frame, the photo of Sunset Curve already in it, and sighed. At least his parents were still alive.

Luke descended the stairs, meeting Alex’s mother at the bottom. “Hey… would you mind, er, taking me to my parents’ place? I want to give them this.” He held up the frame, and she merely smiled.

“Go start the car.”

= = = = =

At the school’s opening assembly, Julie found Flynn just as Principal Lessa announced Dirty Candi. They watched the performance, and at the end, Julie grabbed Flynn’s hand.

“Whatever you’re about to see, you need to promise me you won’t freak out,” she warned her best friend.

Flynn looked at her curiously, narrowing her eyes, and Julie sighed.

“Promise.”

“Of course I promise,” Flynn replied. Julie squeezed her hand, then darted off.

Principal Lessa announced Sunset Curve, and the boys walked on stage.

“Welcome back, Los Feliz!” Luke called. He was met with cheers, and he glanced sideways at Reggie, who nodded at him. Behind him, Alex was ready.

“We have a surprise for you! A guest performer, of sorts.”

There was murmuring throughout the gymnasium, and Alex started up a drumroll.

“Our very own Julie Molina!”

Julie stepped out on stage, holding a mic and waving. The reaction in the audience seemed to be mixed; Carrie and her posse were standing with their arms folded in front of them, but in the back, Julie could see Flynn’s face explode with pride.

Alex counted them in, and Julie sang with Luke. She had agreed to it at their coffee date, and from there, it had been a matter of rehearsing with the band. Reggie and Alex had accepted her with open arms, and as she sang, she couldn’t help but feel like she was finally herself again. This was what she loved to do, after all. It felt natural, as she played off of the boys’ energy.

During the bridge, Luke came up to her, singing directly to her, and she sang back to him. At the end of the song, she froze, staring into his eyes, breathing heavily in unison with him.

The audience cheered, they left the stage, and Alex and Reggie suspiciously disappeared into the crowd.

“That was incredible!” she exclaimed, turning to Luke and beaming at him. He was smiling back at her, dimples and all.

“You really were,” he said, his hand on her upper arm.

“You know, I’m really glad our packages got mixed up,” Julie said, meeting his gaze.

“Me too,” Luke replied, leaning in and brushing a featherlight kiss to her lips.

She melted. When he pulled away, Julie gazed up at him, her hand finding his.

“You rocked it!” Flynn’s voice broke the mood and she turned away from Luke, hugging her friend. As Flynn twirled her around, though, Julie caught Luke’s eye.

Yeah, she thought. Amazon’s screw-up was forgiven.

**Author's Note:**

> I swear Willie is alive and well in this universe, too! He was probably off meeting Alex during that final scene! Yeah, that's it!
> 
> Comments and kudos make my day!


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